A teenager has spoken of the moment he and his girlfriend were hospitalised after he says he was forced off a busy Teesside road.

Connor Marshall, 19, said he was travelling down the A66 with his girlfriend, Emma Smeaton, 18, when a driver hit the side of his car, writing it off in the process.

The young couple were lucky to escape serious injury after they smashed into a barrier near the Hill Street Centre in Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Cleveland Police are now investigating the alleged incident.

Connor, who works as an electrical design engineer for Morrison Utility Services, has also urged two other drivers who may have seen the collision to come forward.

He said: “We were travelling towards Middlesbrough town centre on the A66 and we could see a car undercutting people and driving quite fast.”

He claimed the car then pushed him into the side barriers before driving off.

“The car is completely written off and one of the tyres blew out. His car should have big damage on the drivers side wing where he hit my passenger side front wheel wing,” he added.

Connor and Emma, both from Coulby Newham , were taken to James Cook University Hospital after suffering from neck and back injuries. Luckily the pair escaped without serious injury.

Connor Marshall and his girlfriend were both taken to hospital (Image: Connor Marshall)

He added: “I urge anyone who saw anything to come forward as it could have been a lot worse if it wasn’t for my reactions in preventing the car from flipping.

“We could have come out of this with spinal injuries and be in a wheelchair.

“I’m just devastated that someone can do that and then just drive off. For someone to make off like that is shocking.”

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman said they were investigating the incident.

Connor Marshall and his girlfriend Emma Smeaton (Image: Ian McIntyre)

They said: “We received a report of a collision on the A66 near the Hill Street Centre in Middlesbrough just before 6.25pm on Saturday 25th June. A male driver reported that a black car had been in collision with his black Ford Focus and had then left the scene.

“The man and his female passenger were taken by ambulance to JCUH with what are believed to be minor injuries and investigations into the incident are ongoing.